The Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) tests broad medical knowledge across every organ system and clinical setting a PA may work in. Most PA students start structured review during their final didactic year and continue it through clinical rotations.
The PANCE is the certifying exam PA students take after finishing an accredited PA program. Passing it is required to become a licensed, practicing PA. The exam covers medicine broadly, so preparation works best as an ongoing habit rather than a single cram period at the end of the program.
Most students begin dedicated PANCE-style review once they enter clinical rotations, since rotations are when classroom knowledge gets tested in real patient scenarios. Starting review early and pacing it across rotations tends to work better than waiting until the final weeks before the exam.
A workable PANCE study plan usually includes three parts:
Rotations shift a student's daily attention to whatever specialty they are on that month, which can crowd out review of other systems. Students who keep a running review schedule across all systems, rather than only studying the specialty in front of them, tend to enter PANCE prep with fewer gaps to close at the end.
OnlineMedEd's PA Program provides video-based lessons organized by system and specialty, built to support both didactic study and rotation-based learning. The goal is to give PA students one consistent resource to return to across the length of the program, rather than switching between disconnected study materials rotation to rotation.
What does the PANCE cover?
The PANCE covers medical knowledge across organ systems and clinical settings that a certified PA is expected to know, spanning the scope of general PA practice.
When do most students take the PANCE?
Most students take the PANCE shortly after completing their PA program, once they are eligible to sit for the exam.
Is one big study block enough to prepare for the PANCE?
A single late study block can work for some students, but pacing review earlier and consistently across rotations is a more common approach and leaves less to cover at the end.
Does OnlineMedEd have a PA-specific program?